Highlights from our trip

It usually takes about 11 hours to drive to Salavan, and we got off late this morning (sad reason - had to stop by a funeral first)

So there was no time to stop for photos, even though the sky and light were so beautiful. I did what I could by snapping photos through the window. These are some of the best.



Temples in the south of Laos are very much open air. The mountains are the western reaches of the Annamites, which form the border between Lao and Vietnam.



I loved the way people lie the grasses they collected on their front yards so the grass can dry before the seeds are pounded out of them so they can be made into brooms.



Where we stopped for dinner. The town of Khongxedon is famous for grilled chicken and homemade rice whiskey. Well, we enjoyed the chicken but skipped the whiskey.

What I did on a Saturday

One of my resolutions for the new year was to honor my weekends. Unfortunately, it doesn't often work out - there's so much work during the week that we travel on the weekends.

Last night we had a going away party for our country director. And to welcome me as the Acting Country Director. While the party was fun, I left very early; just too tired by all the events of learning all the ropes that go along with the position. I also had to wake up early to drive down to Pakse.

At least one of the advantages of this position was that I could justify staying in a better hotel - very comfortable, with wireless! This doesn't happen too often.

Long trip today

We got out of the office late, and just arrived in Pakse, where we're having dinner, a few beers and some internet.

This village was collecting funds for their temple:


And the kids having a good time stopping cars to accept our donations:


and the sunset: